


Call Me, Beep Me, If You Wanna Reach Me

by Dont_Stop_Larry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: First Date, First Kiss, M/M, Mentions of families - Freeform, idk what else to tag, im dead, its all fluff, this is the siri prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 16:58:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13551672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dont_Stop_Larry/pseuds/Dont_Stop_Larry
Summary: Louis grabbed his phone and slid off of his lofted bed and onto the floor, his bare feet the only reason that he stayed upright. “Let’s see what Siri has to say on the subject. If she doesn’t think he’ll text me first, I’ll text him.”Liam rolled his eyes, but stood up from his chair, stretching before coming up behind Louis to watch. Louis put the speaker up to his mouth.“Hey Siri?”Siri clicked on and Louis heard Liam snicker behind him. He kicked him in the shin and continued.“Will Harry Styles ever text me?” Louis looked back at Liam and Liam just smirked at him.“Sending text to Harry Styles: Will you ever text me?”Louis nearly dropped his phone in horror. He pressed every single button he could think of and immediately shut his phone down, but when he turned it back on, the damage was done. There was the single text, in the blue of iMessage, from himself to Harry fucking Styles.“What the fuck did I just do?” Louis whispered to himself in horror.





	Call Me, Beep Me, If You Wanna Reach Me

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so this is the Siri prompt everyone was raving about the other day on twitter, and I went ahead and went for it. I had so much fun writing this, as there isn't a lot of opportunity to write fetus fics with no smut these days.
> 
> Thank you to Laura (BestLarrieFics) for tagging me in this prompt and encouraging me to do it.
> 
> Thank you to my three additional betas, Julia, Tina, and Mary, for editing this quickly and giving me the perfect feedback.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.
> 
> Lots of love xx  
> L
> 
> ***This fic has been translated into Spanish and published on Wattpad. Here is the link***   
> https://www.wattpad.com/story/138454253-call-me-beep-me-if-you-wanna-reach-me-l-s

Louis Tomlinson had done a lot of stupid things in his life. He’d tried smoking when he was 14, because Stan thought it would be funny; they ended up getting caught and Louis was grounded for two weeks. He’d sneaked off to a party in year 10 and the party had gotten busted by the cops, which earned Louis another month of grounding and no phone privileges. He’d jumped off high dives and gone off-roading when his American friends had come to visit, and he’d broken too many bones to count. But nothing compared to what had happened during his second week as a freshman at an American College.

            He and Liam had been looking at University and decided that they really wanted to try the four-year exchange program that was offered through their secondary school. They’d both gotten in and were two of only five applicants that were selected; it was a dream come true. Getting everything packed and saying goodbye to their families wasn’t easy, but they were ready for this adventure, and they were going together – Louis was almost positive that Liam going was the only reason his mum had agreed to it, but he was taking it.

            They’d settled in faster than they thought they would, but everything was still new, and everyone stared at them every time they opened their mouths. It was the accent, they knew that, but it was still kind of weird; going from semi-popular class clowns in British Secondary School to the super popular foreigners in College.

           Only they weren’t alone. Once a week, they met with the coordinating Study Abroad professor that had been a huge part of bringing them over to America, and they, along with 200 or so other students from around the world, sat in a room and went through small lectures about how things worked and how many classes they needed to complete before their four years were up. All in all, Louis felt like this was the place he needed to be; he was here in a new country with his best friend. What could go wrong?

            “Louis, if I hear you say his name one more time, I will throw something at you,” Liam groaned, and Louis finally looked up from where his hands were nervously twisting around his phone.

            “What?” he said, not really getting what Liam was saying. Liam sighed and swiveled around in his chair.

             “You haven’t stopped talking about Harry since you got back from class, and if you don’t text him right now, I will!”

             Louis felt his cheeks go slightly pink and he bit the inside of his cheek, trying not to smile too much at the mention of Harry’s name.

             He was being stupid, really. Harry was two years younger than him, though somehow had skipped a few years in school and was attending college now, but that didn’t matter. Harry was, without a doubt, the most attractive boy Louis had ever seen, and he was pretty sure he was a little bit in love with him.

             “I can’t just text him, Liam. We’ve barely known each other for two weeks, and the only reason I even have his number at all is because we had to exchange them for a group project. I’m pretty sure that’s the only reason he even talks to me.” Louis sighed, throwing his phone down on his duvet and smashing his face into his pillow.

             He remembered meeting Harry like it was yesterday. Two weeks wasn’t much time, but it was enough. One glance had been enough for Louis.

~

             In college, there was this thing the Americans liked to call “unofficial assigned seating”, which basically meant that the seat that you chose on the first day of class was your seat for the semester. Period. Louis, being a little bit nervous, had taken a seat in the back, and as everyone filed in, it seemed that it was a trend to sit as far away from the front as possible.

             The professor came in a few minutes later and set her stuff up at the front. She was young, a lot younger than a majority of his teachers had been in his years of schooling, but Louis didn’t mind. It just meant that she was probably particularly brilliant and might just have a sense of humor that would extend to Louis making his usual jokes.

             “Welcome to Freshman Writing, everyone. I hope you all have your books already, because we will be starting fairly quickly.”

             Louis reached for his bag, pulling out the book and setting it on his desk along with his notebook and pencil, ready to go. And that’s when his world turned upside down.

             The door opened and there was a flash of purple as someone slid into the first desk they could find, panting and looking frazzled, from what Louis could tell. Everyone in the class turned to look at him, and Louis could see the looks of pity on their faces. This boy had no choice … he’d have to sit in the front.

             “S-sorry, ma’am, I was in the wrong building,” mumbled a deep voice, and Louis felt a chill slide down his spine. That voice was so … wow. And his accent was heavy … maybe Cheshire? Louis was too surprised that he didn’t know this boy already to really think about it too much.

             “You’re alright. I was just about to take roll.”

             The boy turned around to put his purple sweatshirt on the back of his chair, and Louis almost fell out of his.

             The boy had huge green eyes, wide and soft like a baby deer, almost, and the most beautiful chestnut curls that fell in a halo around his slightly chubby face. His lips, which were parted slightly, were full and pink and perfect, and his soft cheeks were tinged with the slightest hint of red.

             Louis pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, and then looked up at the professor, who was starting to call out names.

             “Harry Styles.”

             The beautiful boy raised his hand sheepishly, and Louis wanted to die. He now had a name to go with that beautiful face. Harry … it sounded so royal but fit him so well.

             He was so busy thinking about Harry that he didn’t hear his own name being called until she’d called it three times.

             “Is there a Louis Tomlinson in here?”

             “Oh, yeah, sorry, that’s me,” Louis said, feeling ashamed. He wasn’t here to get in a relationship or stare at pretty boys all day. He was here to get an education with Liam, and to explore America.

             “That’s everyone then. My name is Professor Shaw, but you can call me Linda if you want. I’m more comfortable with first names, anyway. Today, we’ll just go over your syllabus, and I’ll put you in groups for your first project.”

             Louis opened his notebook and started taking notes at once. If he looked up and stared at the back of Harry’s head a few times, it was only because he was at the front of the room, where the syllabus was being projected.

 

             “Alright, that about wraps it up. We’ve got about ten minutes left, so I’ll go ahead and put you in your groups. The project will be due two weeks from today and I’ll give you more information next class. Right now, just exchange information.”

             Louis packed his things carefully in his bag and pulled his jean jacket over his shoulders. It wasn’t exactly cold out, but he loved that jacket too much to go anywhere without it. He looked up just in time to hear his name being called.

             “The last group will be Louis Tomlinson, Jackie Ross, Brenda Foster, and Harry Styles. Please sit with your groups, and when you’re done exchanging information and emails and such, you may go. See you Wednesday.”

             Louis’ mouth felt particularly dry as he stood up, almost in a trance, and walked up to where Harry was sitting. He plopped his stuff down at the desk behind Harry and automatically reached up to fix his fringe. Not that it helped him look any more attractive or anything, but it was habit, especially when he was feeling nervous.

             “Hey guys! Figured we’d just exchange numbers and make a group chat, if that’s ok,” said one girl – Jackie, if Louis remembered correctly –  as she slid into a seat next to Harry, her long red hair swinging over her shoulder as she batted her eyelashes at Harry. Harry blinked, not saying a word, and Louis had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. The other girl, Brenda, smiled and sat down next to Louis, but she was also looking at Harry. Harry wasn’t looking up, but rather at his shoes, and Louis felt the sudden need to defend him. Harry looked extremely uncomfortable under all the stares.

             “Sounds good. Let’s just pass our phones around then, yeah?” Louis said, trying to take control of the situation, and Harry looked up a little as Louis offered his phone to him. Their hands barely brushed as Louis handed off his phone, but he still felt it all the way up his arm. He bit his lip, trying to get ahold of himself. He was no better than these two American girls, goggling at Harry like he was a prize to be won instead of a person.

             When Louis finally got his phone back, he pulled his bag over his shoulder, anxious to get out of there. The way those two girls were acting was a bit too much for him, and it was only the first day.

             “We’ll text you later, then,” Brenda said, and then, turning to Harry, “You wanna come get food with us? We can show you around campus and stuff.”

             Harry flushed, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip, and suddenly, words were falling from Louis’ mouth before he’d even properly thought them out.

             “He can’t. He’s got a meeting with the exchange program leaders, right?” Louis forced himself to look right into Harry’s eyes, widening his own pointedly, and Harry nodded.

             “Yeah, sorry about that. Maybe next time?”

             Louis had to contain a shiver as Harry’s deep voice resonated in the almost empty classroom. Jackie and Brenda looked slightly offended, but they both shrugged and walked off.

             Harry and Louis were now alone. Louis wasn’t quite sure what to say, so he just stood there awkwardly and watched Harry put his things away.

             “Thanks for that,” Harry said quietly, and Louis’ head snapped up. Harry was looking at him, smiling slightly, and Louis could see the hint of a dimple forming in his left cheek. Was there anything about this boy that wasn’t absolutely perfect?

             “Oh, no problem, mate. They were being kinda gross, throwing themselves at you. I figured I’d save you the trouble of sitting through a lunch of all googly eyes and obnoxious flirting.”

             Louis closed his mouth abruptly, realizing that he was rambling like an idiot, but Harry was smiling wider now.

             “Well, I’ll see you around, then?” Louis said, pressing his lips together as his own little inside voice screamed at him for being the most awkward idiot on the planet.

             “Wait … umm, I don’t know where the music building is … do you?” Harry asked, twisting his hands together in front of him. Wow, he had big hands.

             “Yeah, sure. I’ll walk you there, I haven’t got class for a little while,” Louis lied. He had no fucking clue where this building was, but any excuse to walk with Harry was a yes from him. He stood back from the doorway and motioned for Harry to go out first. Harry’s pink cheeks turned a shade darker and he obliged. Louis bit down on his lip to keep from making some sort of triumphant noise – or a pathetic whine, he wasn’t sure which – and followed Harry out into the hallway.

~

             “Louis … LOUIS, are you even listening to me?” Liam’s voice interrupted his thoughts, and Louis pulled his head off his pillow, looking blearily at Liam.

             “What? Umm … yeah, of course I was listening, but you know me … I gotta hear it twice, mate.”

             Liam glared at him, and Louis only felt a little bit ashamed.

             “Just. Text. Him. It can’t possibly be that hard.”

             “I’m waiting for him to make the first move, Li. What if he doesn’t like me? What if he thinks I’m too weird or too chipper or too much of a headass?”

             “If he hasn’t figured out you’re a headass by now, he never will. He didn’t ask to be put in another group, did he?”

             “I don’t think you can …” Louis mumbled, but Liam continued, louder than Louis.

             “He always stays after and talks to you during the group meetings, doesn’t he?”

             Louis nodded, and Liam throws his hands up in the air.

             “Fucking text the boy, for god’s sake, Lou!”

             Louis grabbed his phone and slid off of his lofted bed and onto the floor, his bare feet the only reason that he stayed upright. “Let’s see what Siri has to say on the subject. If she doesn’t think he’ll text me first, I’ll text him.”

             Liam rolled his eyes, but stood up from his chair, stretching before coming up behind Louis to watch. Louis put the speaker up to his mouth.

             “Hey Siri?”

             Siri clicked on and Louis heard Liam snicker behind him. He kicked him in the shin and continued.

             “Will Harry Styles ever text me?” Louis looked back at Liam and Liam just smirked at him.

             “Sending text to Harry Styles: Will you ever text me?”

             Louis nearly dropped his phone in horror. He pressed every single button he could think of and immediately shut his phone down, but when he turned it back on, the damage was done. There was the single text, in the blue of iMessage, from himself to Harry fucking Styles.

             “What the fuck did I just do?” Louis whispered to himself in horror, and Liam tried to answer, but he was too busy laughing, doubled over as he tried to control himself.

             “You just … fucking … Jesus, Lou …” Liam gasped, and Louis wacked him on the arm.

             “This isn’t funny! This is a disaster! Fucking Siri, you’re useless,” Louis nearly screamed at his phone, his hands flying to his hair in panic. He couldn’t even comprehend what he just did. If he even thought he had the smallest chance, it was most definitely gone now. He was so fucking screwed.

             “Well, you did what I asked, so I can’t complain,” Liam said with a chuckle, finally having stopped laughing long enough to get out a full sentence.

             There was a sudden knock on the door and they both froze, looking at each other. Louis’ panic rose. He didn’t think Harry even lived in this building, but everything in him was screaming that it was Harry on the other side of that door, coming to tell him off for texting him such a stupid message.

             The knock came again, this time with a voice. “RA, please open up. Routine check!”

             Louis let out a breath and opened the door, his phone still in his hand, and his RA, Jeff, was standing there, looking pompous as usual and carrying a clipboard.

             “Hey, mate, come on in,” Liam called from behind Louis, and Louis stepped aside to let him in. He made a face at Jeff from behind his back and Liam had to turn away to hide his smirk.

             “Heard some noise coming from in here. Best to keep it down in the future, alright?” Jeff said as he scanned the room, making notes on his clipboard. Louis’ nose wrinkled up at that. The way he spoke, it was like he was a 40-year-old man instead of only two years Louis’ senior, and it took all Louis had not to make a joke of it.

             Jeff scanned the room and was about to leave when his eyes landed on the coffee maker, and he narrowed them. “Coffee maker? Not allowed, boys. I’ll give you a pass because you don’t really know how American schools work, but you have to get rid of it.

             Louis opened his mouth to say something snarky, but his eyes caught on a movement in the hallway, and he choked on his own words.

             Harry was standing right outside his door, watching with a smirk on his face. Liam had noticed too and nudged Louis, but Louis didn’t say a word and he didn’t move. Harry looked down at his phone at that moment, his screen lighting up, and Louis wanted to disappear. Harry’s eyebrows scrunched together, and then he looked up over Jeff’s back at Louis, his eyes wide.

             “Well, if that’s all, I’ll be going. Have a nice week, boys,” Jeff said, leaving the room. Louis was almost tempted to follow him out into the hallway and explain his mistake to Harry, but one quick glance back up showed that Harry had already walked away.

             Louis sank to the floor, his back against their mini fridge, and put his face in his hands, groaning.

             “I fucked it up, didn’t I?” he asked, his voice muffled, and Liam patted his arm.

             “I doubt it. You’re a catch, Lou.”

             “Thanks for that, but I don’t think I’ll be taking him out for coffee any time soon,” Louis said, walking over to his phone charger. He was just about to plug it in when it buzzed in his hand, and his heart stopped.

**From: Harry Styles**

_Was waiting for you, but I guess that’s out of the way now, haha._

             Louis dropped the charger and launched himself across the room to Liam, shoving his phone in his face. Liam fumbled with it, read the message, and smirked.

             “Looks like you didn’t fuck it up too badly after all.” He stood up again and pulled his sweatshirt towards him. “I’ve got class, but I’ll see you later at the meeting. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

             Liam picked up his bag and headed out of the room, swinging his keys on his finger. Louis sat there, splayed across the floor, for a few more seconds before snatching up his phone and staring at the screen, trying to figure out what to say to that. He could ask him out, be forward like he would have when he was at home, but Harry was different. He was so much packed into one person, and Louis had never been with a boy before. He knew he liked them, having gotten no pleasure at the thought of girls since he was 14, but he’d been so focused on college and theatre that he hadn’t really thought about it much. Until now. Until Harry.

**To: Harry Styles**

_I am so sorry about that, I didn’t mean to sent it like that, I would have asked a lot nicer if I’d … sorry._

             Louis waited nervously, not moving from the floor. He could feel his entire body alive with nervous butterflies. He’d never felt like this before. He jumped when his phone buzzed almost immediately.

**From Harry Styles**

_It’s ok, haha. I’ve been trying to text you for days, but I couldn’t figure out what to say. I’m sort of awkward, if you haven’t already figured that out._

**To: Harry Styles**

_Yeah, but you’re cute._

             Louis groaned as his finger pressed send on that text. He was so stupid and sappy. Liam definitely would make fun of him for this later.

**From: Harry Styles**

_You’re not so bad yourself._

             Louis blushed furiously and fumbled with his phone, just tossing it back and forth between his hands, trying to convince himself that what he said next would go over well, or if he could even say it or not. Well, at least if Harry refused, he could mope in the safety of his own room without anyone seeing. It was much better than trying to mask his disappointment in person.

**To: Harry Styles**

_We could meet up after the meeting tonight?_

**To: Harry Styles**

_If you want to, I mean._

**To: Harry Styles**

_We don’t have to, I just thought maybe … yeah._

Louis forced himself to put his phone down after the third text in a row. His hands were shaking a little and he felt slightly sick. How was one boy causing him to feel so much?

             Louis’ phone buzzed about ten minutes later, and Louis, heart in his throat, picked it up and turned it over.

**From: Harry Styles**

_I would love to._

**From: Harry Styles**

_Sorry it took me so long, I was screaming my victory to the world._

             Louis laughed. He couldn’t believe it. He was going to take Harry Styles on an actual date. His smile disappeared in an instant. He was going to take Harry Styles on an actual date, and he had no idea where anything was or what to wear or what to bring with him. He took a deep breath.

**To: Harry Styles**

_That’s amazing. Just meet me at the door after. Can’t wait!_

             Louis threw down his phone, turned in a circle, and picked up his phone again, hitting the FaceTime button. He paced the room while he waited, and finally, Niall picked up his call.

             “Heya, Lou, how’s America?” His rosy face filled the entire screen and Louis snorted before pulling his mind back to the dilemma at hand.

             “Great. Niall, listen … I’m going on a date. With a boy.”

             Louis almost laughed as Niall’s eyes grew wide and his mouth widened into a huge smile.

             “You’re joking, Lou. You’ve barely been there a month; how did you already score a date?”

             “I don’t even know, but I need your help.” Louis walked over to his wardrobe and threw the doors open. “I need you to look up restaurants near campus. Nothing below three stars. And tell me if there’s a dress code or something. I want this to be really special.”

             Louis could hear Niall typing away as he placed his phone on his bedpost and started pulling out some of his nicer clothes and throwing them on his bed. He wasn’t sure what to do. When he’d gone on dates with girls, he’d just gone with jeans and a button down, but he felt like this called for more. A suit jacket, maybe some braces, but he wasn’t sure what Harry would like on him.

             “Alright, Lou, there’s a few restaurants here I think you guys could go to. There’s Olive Garden, I know that’s supposed to be really big in the US, but it’s also expensive. No dress code, but it’s still a nice place. Then there’s the pizza place, Capones, which is supposed to be the best pizza in town. That’s more casual, if you wanted it to be chill. And then, there’s …”

             Niall rambled on as Louis sifted through his clothes. He had absolutely no idea what to wear. He didn’t have much that wasn’t baggy jeans and band t-shirts, and he didn’t think that would be appropriate, no matter where they went.

             The door opened and slammed into Louis’ wardrobe door. Liam slipped by and threw his stuff down.

             “Fucking professor cancelled class and didn’t tell us, and … what are you doing?”

             Louis looked up from his pile of clothes, and he was pretty sure he looked a little crazy. “I’m going on a date tonight and I need clothes.”

             Liam looked up from his phone, a grin spreading across his face. “You asked him out?”

             Louis nodded, trying and failing to keep his smile contained. “Yeah, and me and Niall are trying to figure out what to do, but I’m so nervous, I can’t decide!”

             “Hi, Payno!” Niall called from on top of the bedpost, and Liam grinned.

             “Hey, Niall. Ok, Lou, what are you talking about? You have plenty to wear!”

             Louis stopped and stared at him, deadpanning. “Liam. Maybe you’re into the whole hobo thing with men, but I’m pretty sure Harry isn’t. And I want to look nice.”

             Liam shoved Louis out of the way and started sorting through Louis’ clothes again. “Niall, what restaurants did you suggest?”

             While Liam threw clothes everywhere and Niall rattled off the stats for the restaurants again, Louis paced back and forth. What was he going to say? Where were they going to go? What would they do after dinner? Should he kiss him? He probably should, Harry was probably expecting it, and he was the older one, so he should have been making the first moves, right?

             “Louis?”

             Louis started out of his thoughts and looked at Liam. Liam was holding up a pair of dark blue Chinos that Louis hadn’t worn for at least two years, and a white striped shirt. Louis looked at them and then at Liam.

             “Hate to break it to ya, mate, but my arse has grown about six sizes in the last few years, I don’t think those are gonna fit.”

             “Well, you’re trying them on anyway, let’s go.”

             “And you’re taking Harry to Capones, I’ve decided for you,” said Niall’s voice, and Louis pulled his phone towards him.

             “Thanks for doing all the dirty work,” Louis said, and Niall laughed.

             “It’s not every day you get to send your son off on his first date.”

             Louis wrinkled his nose and Liam laughed along with Niall. “Gotta go … I’ll tell you how it goes later.”             

             He hung up and threw his phone down onto the pile of discarded clothes, taking the Chinos from Liam’s hands and tugging down his joggers.

             “These better fit,” Louis said, more to himself than Liam, hoping for the best.

~

             When Liam and Louis finally entered the room for the meeting, they found it almost full already. The coordinator was already speaking, so Louis and Liam slid into two seats by the door. Louis pressed his lips together and gave the room a quick scan, but when he didn’t see Harry’s curly mop of hair right away, he turned his attention back to the front.

             As it turned out, the Chinos had fit. They were extremely tight over his arse, but Liam insisted that Louis made it work and refused to let Louis wear anything else. Louis had then spent almost an hour trying different things with his hair before he settled on his usual fringe. Liam had watched, snapping pictures to send to Niall every few moments. They were such parents, both of them.

             By the time Liam had actually convinced Louis to leave the dorm room and Louis had grabbed his shoes, they were already late for the meeting, but Louis didn’t care. His mind was too busy thinking of all the ways this could go horribly wrong.

             Louis had been on plenty of dates in his time. He’d taken them anywhere from dinner and a movie to a carriage ride that he had to bribe three friends and an old man from down the street to help him out with. He’d kissed on the first date, he’d had sex on the first date, he’d dropped a girl off without so much as a word said on the ride. He’d done it all, and he’d done it all well. But this was different. This was his first date with a boy. A really cute boy, for that matter; one that he really wanted to impress. Images were flashing through his mind of him tripping over his own two feet and falling onto concrete, him tripping Harry and Harry hurting himself, rain, dog shit on the sidewalk, horrible breath on the first kiss, and anything else he could come up with.

             “Lou, you alright? You’re shaking,” Liam hissed in his ear, trying not to catch the attention of the coordinator. Louis jumped a little and smoothed his hands on his thighs, nodding and pressing his lips together. He was fine. Everything was going to be fine.

~

             The meeting felt a lot shorter than usual, and maybe it was, but either way, everyone was suddenly standing and moving towards the door, and Louis was glued to his seat, fear and nerves paralyzing him.

             “You’re gonna be fine. Just be yourself. Oh, look, here he comes. I’ll see you tonight.”

             Liam stood and hurried to join the crowd of people by the door. Louis looked up and saw Harry walking towards him, and he stood up, smoothing out the wrinkles in his shirt.

             Harry was quite a sight. He looked cute on a normal day, but today, he’d taken it one step further. He was wearing skinny jeans that were so tight, they appeared painted on, which did wonders for his thick thighs. He was wearing a sweater that had a hole in it, but it was a nice dark green that brought out the brightness of his eyes. Harry lifted a hand to brush his stray curls out of his eyes, and his sweater lifted, displaying the softest love handles Louis had ever seen.

             “Wow. You look amazing,” Louis blurted out before he could stop himself. Harry smiled and blushed, head down.

             “I can definitely say the same about you. You, umm, you ready?”

             “Yeah, yeah, lets go,” Louis said, his voice too high and his words too jumbled, but Harry didn’t seem to mind. Louis held the door open for Harry and they both moved into the hallway, heading for the stairs. They exchanged small talk as they descended the stairs, and once they were outside on the street, Louis’ mind kicked back into gear.

             He wanted to hold Harry’s hand so badly, but he forced his own hands into his pockets instead. It was too soon. He had to take this slow.

             “So where are you taking me?” Harry asked, looking curiously over at Louis, and Louis made the mistake of looking right into his eyes. Fucking doe eyes, man, so gorgeous, damn it all to hell, Louis thought as he cleared his throat.

             “Umm, there’s this little pizza place called Capones, it’s just down the street. I figured it was nice but not too nice, you know?”

             Harry nodded and fell into step right beside Louis, their arms brushing together slightly. Despite the warmth of the air around them, Louis shivered.

             He managed to make it all the way to the pizza place without doing anything stupid, and once they were seated, he looked across the table at Harry, waiting for him to speak.

             “So, I was going to ask …”

             “Have you ever been to …”

             They both laughed, and Louis gestured to Harry to go first.

             “So, have you ever been here before? Do you know what it’s like?”

             Louis shook his head. “I haven’t had much time to explore anything off campus. It’s all been classes and meetings and Skype calls to home for me. You?”

             “No, it’s been about the same for me. My mum calls me every single day just to make sure I’m alright and that I’m eating enough, you know how mums are.”

             “Oh, yeah, I do. Mine told me that if I didn’t call her at least twice a week, she’d come over here and get me herself. I don’t mind though, I miss my sisters, so it works out for all of us.”

             Harry smiled at the mention of siblings. “How many sisters do you have?”

             Louis thought for a moment, counting. “Lottie, Fizzy, Phoebe, and Daisy, so … four. The last two are twins, too, so you can imagine how much fun the house is.”

             Harry nodded. “Yeah, I can only imagine. It’s always been just me, my mum, and my sister Gemma. She’s a bit older so she’s already started Uni and everything. I was surprised I even got in this program, ‘cause I’m so young.”

             “Why did you apply?”

             At that moment, their waitress came over and asked them what they wanted to drink. Louis and Harry both answered with water, and she walked away, throwing a wink over her shoulder at Harry.

             “Do you get that a lot?”

             “What?”

             “Girls … making fools of themselves around you. I noticed our group mates doing it and I just … yeah,” Louis said, trying not to sound jealous. Harry shrugged.

             “Yeah, sometimes. I’m not sure why, though, because I made it very clear at home that I wasn’t interested in girls at all. I guess since it’s a new country and all … but yeah. They say I flirt with them, but I’m just trying to be nice. I want people to feel appreciated and paid attention to, and sometimes they take it the wrong way.”

             Louis grimaced. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t be treated like that … like a toy. You’re a person, you deserve respect too.”

             “Thank you for that, Lou … it’s ok if I call you Lou, right?” Harry asked in a hurry, his cheeks turning red, and Louis smiled, nodding.

             “Of course. As long as I get to come up with a good nickname for you too. Let’s see …”

             “My sister used to call me Harry Beary …” Harry mumbled, and Louis snorted.

             “That’s a pretty good one, but I think I’ll pass. I want something new, exciting. Hmm … how bout Hazza?”

             Harry, who was already blushing, flushed an even darker shade of red.

             “I … yeah, that’s perfect.”

             Louis grinned and did his best to ignore the butterflies in his tummy. “I thought it might be.”

             The waitress came back with their drinks and asked for their order. Louis realized that they’d been talking so much, they hadn’t even picked up a menu.

             “Umm … cheese ok with you, Hazza?” Louis asked, testing out his nickname for the first time, and his whole body felt warm as Harry smiled wide.

             “Exactly what I was thinking.”

             She nodded, her eyes trained on Harry and her mascara clogged lashes batting at an alarming rate. Louis felt a twinge of jealousy, and without really thinking about it, reached out and grabbed Harry’s hand, which had been sitting on the table. The waitress’s reaction was immediate, and she wrote down the order quickly, leaving them alone once more.

             Harry looked from their hands, intertwined on the table, up at Louis, and Louis just gave him a little smile, trying not to convey how much his hand was tingling. Harry’s hands were warm, and Louis just knew that if they actually held hands properly, his hand would be engulfed by Harry’s. He’d always been a bit sensitive about his size, but he found that he didn’t mind being small when it was Harry he was comparing himself to.

             They both held on a beat too long before letting go, and Louis knew his face was bright red. They fumbled for something to say, and finally, Louis remembered something.

             “So … I know I asked this before, but we kinda got off topic … why did you apply for this program?”

             Harry smiled, and his eyes got bright. “It’s a fascinating story, if I’m being honest.”

             “We’ve got plenty of time,” Louis assured him, and Harry’s smile grew wider still.

~

             They ended up staying at Capones for an extra hour, even after they had polished off their pizza and had three refills of their drinks. Louis just couldn’t stop listening to Harry talk about his life. His voice was so lovely, and he spoke slowly, like he was truly thinking every word.

             When they finally left, the wind had picked up, and the moment they stepped outside, Louis’ hair blew all over the place, and the feeling of contentment was gone in an instant as anxiety took over. Why he cared so much about his appearance, he didn’t know, but his hand immediately went to his hair, his fingers scrabbling to put it back in place. When he looked over at Harry, however, he saw that his vision was almost completely obscured by wild curls, and Harry was laughing silently, pulling strands of hair out of his mouth. Louis’ anxiety immediately eased, and he stopped, reaching over to brush Harry’s hair out of his eyes.

             They were suspended in that moment, and Louis had to go against every fiber of his being, pulling his hand away and turning back towards the street. The light turned and the sign to walk across came on, and as Louis stepped out into the crosswalk, he felt a warm hand take hold of his. His stomach fluttered, and he looked back at Harry, who was smiling under his mess of hair.

             Once they were across, Harry didn’t let go of his hand, and Louis gave his hand a little squeeze as Harry fell into step beside him once more. They walked along in a comfortable silence, listening to the birds and the crickets and all the sounds that preceded darkness. Louis could feel his phone buzzing in his pocket, but he knew it was just Liam and Niall, trying to figure out what was going on. But Louis didn’t care. All he cared about was the boy next to him, the one that kept glancing over every few seconds, almost as if to check and see that Louis was still there, and that he wasn’t some figment of his imagination. Little did Harry know that all night long, Louis was doing the exact same thing.

             When they finally reached their dorm building, Louis reluctantly let go of Harry’s hand to reach for his ID card. He swiped in and they headed for the elevators, still in that soft silence that Louis didn’t want to break. As the elevator rose up, Louis realized that he didn’t want to say goodbye to Harry. He wanted to stay with him all night and fall asleep in his arms and wake up feeling happy and awake and warm. He wanted to kiss him. He wanted to feel how soft those perfect pink lips were. He wanted to thread his fingers through Harry’s hair. He wanted everything.

             Louis didn’t even notice that they’d reached his door until Harry stopped walking and stepped in front of him. Louis tried to keep his composure, even with Harry so close.

             “I, umm … had a really great time with you … tonight,” Harry said softly, his words coming out slower than ever. Louis nodded in agreement, trying to find his voice. God, he really wanted to kiss him.

             “Yeah, me too,” he nearly choked, as Harry was closer to him now, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold off much longer.

             “I definitely want to do this again, if you do, that is.”

             Louis looked right into those soft green eyes, and he gave in.

             It was just a soft kiss, very small and very quick, but in the three seconds that their lips touched, Louis’ entire world changed. Harry’s lips were soft, even softer than he’d imagined, and their kiss had sent an electric shock all the way down his spine and to his toes and back. Louis gave a little gasp as he pulled back, and Harry looked surprised, lifting his hand to touch the spot where their lips had met.

             “I … I really wanna do that again, if that’s alright with you,” Louis whispered, feeling the blood rushing to his cheeks as he said it, and Harry stared at him dumbfounded for a few seconds before nodding fervently.

             “Yes please.”

             Louis let out a little chuckle and put his hands lightly on Harry’s waist, pulling him in closer as he kissed him again.

             Harry was surrounding him; he could feel Harry’s heart beating wildly out of his chest, matching Louis’ own rapid heartbeat, he could smell Harry’s cologne mixed with something slightly muskier, and he could taste the slight flavor of Harry’s minty Chapstick.

             Harry kissed like he talked – slowly, but with purpose behind every movement of his lips, and Louis couldn’t think straight, not as long as Harry’s lips were touching his.

             Harry made a little noise into his mouth and Louis almost moaned with how amazing it felt. He parted his lips slightly, and Harry’s tongue was there, just poking slightly at his lips before entering his mouth. Louis slid one hand up his back and wound his fingers in Harry’s curls, pulling his mouth closer and at a different angle. He could feel Harry’s warm hand on the small of his back, pressing into the curve of his spine, and everything felt like it was right where it should be, exactly where it should belong.

             When they finally broke apart, both of them were breathing a little heavier than they normally would have been, and when Louis looked into Harry’s eyes, he saw that they were blown wide and sparkling like he’d never seen them before. Harry smiled and let out a small laugh, pressing his lips together, and Louis couldn’t help but smile back.

             “I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Louis said, pulling his key out of his pocket, and Harry nodded. Harry swooped back in suddenly for one more quick kiss and then he was off down the hallway, walking with a spring in his step. Louis unlocked the door quietly, slipped inside his room, and closed the door, leaning against it and smiling so hard, his face actually hurt.

             “Looks like you two had a fantastic time,” came a voice from Liam’s lofted bed, and Louis jumped wildly. Liam was settled amongst his pillows, the light from his computer screen lighting up his smirk.

             “Shove off, Payno,” Louis mumbled, but he was still smiling. He sat down in his desk chair and pulled out his phone, checking the million messages that had been bothering him all night.

**From: Nialler**

_Don’t have sex on the first date, it’s a terrible idea, no matter how hot he is._

**From: Payno**

_When will you be back? I need to know just in case I should vacate the room_ __

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments or kudos if you enjoyed! Thank you for reading!


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